The Commerce Department says sales of new homes
increased 1.5 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
417,000. Sales had reached a pace of 445,000 in January.

New-home
sales are still below the 700,000 pace considered healthy by most
economists. But they have risen 18.5 percent from a year ago. The median
price of a new home was $247,000 in March, up 3 percent from a year
ago.